The present invention relates to a medical device. More particularly it relates to a programmable device capable of maintaining alerts for various time-sensitive interventions for associated patients. It finds particular application in conjunction with bedside care of patients and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present exemplary embodiment is also amenable to other like applications.
Recently there has been a convergence of forces bringing to light an urgent need for an improvement in the delivery of bedside care to patients. One such force has been the proliferation of the practice of evidence based medicine. The practice of evidence based medicine determines what “best practice” protocols, represented by various time-sensitive interventions, will produce the best possible patient care, such as what to do, when to do it, and what sequence to do it in. Over the last decade, evidence based practice has grown significantly due to the vast advancements in information technology. Another emerging force is the national rise in public distrust for healthcare due to mistakes made by caregivers resulting in slow rates of recovery, patient discomfort and even patient death. The final force is due to increases in public access to quality, satisfaction and safety data, which are driving up healthcare quality standards. The public can now easily view hospital reviews, ratings, and comparisons, making it incredibly easy for individuals to determine which healthcare facility provides the best patient care. Access to information has caused the public to demand improvements because people are dissatisfied and most importantly, people are dying that could have lived.
While the standards for healthcare are rapidly increasing, the healthcare facilities are experiencing a manpower shortage, particularly with those who provide bedside care. Caregivers have to take care of many more patients than before, while patients are getting older, sicker, and are requiring more attention.
Therefore, there exists an urgent need for a device that assists bedside caregivers in timely executing the growing number of time-sensitive interventions, at the right time and in the right sequence, for the purpose of optimizing the quality of patient outcomes, promoting cost effectiveness and improving customer satisfaction.
Electronic calendar/appointments are well known in the art, such as U.S. Pat. Reissue No. 32,655, which teaches of an electronic schedule calendar and diary for storing a plurality of future calendar appointments and events for each of a plurality of date interval periods. However, such electronic calendars contain no convenient way to program alerts tied to specific bed assignments and do not allow for discrete alarms for preprogrammed time sensitive interventions discusses above. U.S. Pat. No. 6,934,220 discloses a programmable medical alert device that can be used to program multiple events, such as medication schedules. Each programmed event will signal an alarm at the same time of day each at which the alarm was originally set. However, such a device is not adaptable to a broad range of functions, such as setting numerous alerts for a number of different bed assignments corresponding to needed time sensitive interventions. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,961,285 teaches a system and process for assisting patients with medication compliance including a medication package with a portable medication monitor to provide support to the patient in taking medication as directed. However, similar to the above mentioned patents, this system does not disclose the various functionalities of the present invention.
Therefore, a portable device has yet to be developed for the use of a caregiver that facilitates improvements in bedside care in healthcare institutions by providing an easy and efficient way for a caregiver to monitor the needs of multiple patients simultaneously using discreet alerts programmed to remind caregivers when needed care is required. Such a device would greatly improve individual patient care, patient satisfaction, and patient rate of recovery and, not only save healthcare facilities money, but also save lives.